Policies

The Universitätsverlag Potsdam publishes high-quality academic works by members of the University of Potsdam.

The Universitätsverlag Potsdam publishes:

• Monographs
• Edited volumes and conference proceedings
• Monograph Series
• Scholarly journals
• Dissertations
• Textbooks

As a general rule, the Universitätsverlag Potsdam publishes works under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Authors retain the copyright to their work.

Researchers are responsible for ensuring the quality of the contents of their publications. The Universitätsverlag supports them in documenting their quality assurance measures in accordance with PRISM by means of a standardized questionnaire, which captures the most important data on the type and form of the peer review process. The Universitätsverlag recommends open peer review (Open Evaluation) to promote scholarly discourse and enhance transparency in the quality assurance process.

The Universitätsverlag ensures the formal and technical quality of its publications through adherence to the quality standards for open access books set by the AG Universitätsverlage (in German).

It reviews manuscripts for compliance with the manuscript guidelines developed jointly with researchers, as well as for readability and clarity.

The Universitätsverlag ensures the technical quality of publications through accessible, semantically-structured editorial practices using professional production and typesetting systems. Publications are provided in multiple formats that meet the scholarly community’s requirements for reusability and machine readability.

Publications are enriched according to established standards with descriptive, structural, legal, and administrative metadata. Interoperable interfaces enable and improve publications’ discoverability in search engines, catalogs, and databases.

Authors, editors, and reviewers commit to comply with ethical standards in research and publication in accordance with statute Selbstkontrolle in der Wissenschaft - Regeln zur Sicherung guter wissenschaftlicher Praxis an der Universität Potsdam (Self-monitoring in the research community – guidelines for safeguarding good research practice at the University of Potsdam; in German). In addition, editors and authors commit to comply with the regulations of the University of Potsdam’s Ethics Committee (in German). The Universitätsverlag recommends editors act in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics' (COPE) publication ethics guidelines. For the handling of research data, please refer to the University of Potsdam’s research data policy.

In addition, journals and monograph series publish their own, discipline specific publication and ethical guidelines.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors and reviewers are obligated to disclose potential conflicts of interest.

Plagiarism Detection

Editors should subject each manuscript to a thorough plagiarism check, if necessary with the help of plagiarism detection software provided by the university.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI Tools

Editors regulate the use of generative artificial intelligence, hereinafter referred to as AI. It should be noted that an AI tool cannot assume any authorship or responsibility for the creation of content. The use of AI must be disclosed in such a way that the type and scope of its use is transparent.

Procedure for Identifying and Addressing Accusations of Misconduct

In the event of suspected misconduct, the University of Potsdam adheres to University of Potsdam regulations. The University's Ombudsperson (in German) is responsible for the investigation of accusations of scholarly misconduct.

The Universitätsverlag Potsdam commits to adhere to all relevant ethical tenets, principles and standards, just as all those involved in the publication process (editors, authors, reviewers) should also observe these. In this context, the “Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholary Publishing”  should be observed. The University of Potsdam Senate Ethics Commission (in German) is responsible for investigating ethics issues.
 

Manuscript Acceptance

The selection of manuscripts for publication in edited volumes, monograph series or journals is the responsibility of the respective editors. They decide freely and independently whether or not submitted manuscripts should be accepted.

Conflicts of Interest and Transparency

The Universitätsverlag Potsdam commits to disclose potential conflicts of interest as soon as they become known to the involved or affected parties.

Proofreading

The Universitätsverlag ensures that proofreaders will handle both the information entrusted them as well as all communication confidentially.

Retractions and Corrections

In the event of proven scholarly misconduct, publications will be withdrawn. Access to the document will be restricted and the reason for the publication’s withdrawal will be documented on the publication’s landing page. Corrected publications will be published marked as new versions. Old versions will not be deleted.

Advertising Policies

As an institutional, non-commercial publisher, the Universitätsverlag does not carry any advertising.

The Universitätsverlag actively promotes a diversity of authors and subject matter and rejects any form of discrimination. By making its publications accessible, it ensures access to all, especially to people with disabilities.

The Universitätsverlag ensures the long-term preservation of its published online documents through deposit with the German National Library (DNB). Publications’ various presentation and archival data formats, including creation formats, as well as documents related to publication (e.g. publishing agreements, peer review documents, releases, print parameters, etc.) are archived on the Universitätverlag’s publication server and are not publicly accessible.

The Universitätsverlag is committed to environmentally friendly publication practices, including the promotion of digital formats. In doing so, the University of Potsdam’s Leitlinien für eine nachhaltige und umweltgerechte Entwicklung der Universität Potsdam (Guidelines for sustainable and environmentally-friendly development; in German) are observed.

The Universitätsverlag is committed to continuously improving its processes and services based on feedback from its authors, readers and the academic community.